Wall Street Sheds Gains in Mid-Day Action

U.S. equity markets shed their gains and turned mildly negative in mid-day trading.

Today's Markets

As of 1:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 25.9 points, or 0.16%, to 16343, the S&P 500 dipped 3.2 points, or 0.18%, to 1863 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 31.5 points, or 0.75%, to 4203.

The broad S&P 500 snapped a two-day losing streak on Tuesday, once again pushing back toward record highs. The move was driven by data suggesting the American economy appears to be rebounding from its winter doldrums, according to analysts.

The Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting goods rose 2.2% in February from the month prior, a bigger jump than the 1% increase economists forecast. Excluding the transportation segment, orders rose 0.2%, lower than the 0.3% rise expected. The report figures into broader growth views at investment banks.

Chris Beauchamp, a market analyst at IG, said the "main excitement" of the day will be the public debut of King Digital Entertainment. The maker of Candy Crush, which priced on the lower end of its range Tuesday night, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KING.

Meanwhile, the 30 largest U.S. banks and foreign financial institutions with major American wings will find out whether the Federal Reserve will approve their capital plans at 4 p.m. ET. Among the big names are JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures climbed 18 cents, or 0.18%, to $99.37 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.42% to $2.895 a gallon. Gold rose $4.40, or 0.34%, to $1,316 a troy ounce.